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Solar Cells for Cheap
Technology Review (MIT) ^
| September 12, 2006
| By Kevin Bullis
Posted on 09/12/2006 9:29:36 AM PDT by aculeus
click here to read article
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1
posted on
09/12/2006 9:29:36 AM PDT
by
aculeus
To: aculeus
Bottom line: how much would three medium sized panels on my roof cost me, and how much less would my monthly electric bill be?
2
posted on
09/12/2006 9:32:25 AM PDT
by
JamesP81
("Never let your schooling interfere with your education" --Mark Twain)
To: aculeus
Absolutely amazing! Thanks for posting this.
3
posted on
09/12/2006 9:34:50 AM PDT
by
Constitution Day
(Please do not emanate into the penumbra.)
To: aculeus
But I think there is going to be more funding. ~sigh...I long for the day when solar is evaluated on it's merits rather than how much funding it gets.
4
posted on
09/12/2006 9:34:57 AM PDT
by
Drango
(A liberal's compassion is limited only by the size of someone else's wallet.)
To: aculeus
With regard to the dye-cells, silicon has a much higher efficiency; it's about twice [as much]. Er, silicon cells are a lousy 10%. It would take a month for a 1 meter silicon cell to produce the energy in 1 gallon of gasoline.
5
posted on
09/12/2006 9:35:57 AM PDT
by
AdamSelene235
(Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
To: aculeus
Ping for later reference - good work posting this information!
To: JamesP81
7
posted on
09/12/2006 9:42:44 AM PDT
by
UB355
(Slower I(t was greatTraffic Keep Right)
To: NotJustAnotherPrettyFace; All
8
posted on
09/12/2006 9:44:01 AM PDT
by
aculeus
To: Constitution Day
Bump for investment look also.
We **need** this in the mountains.
9
posted on
09/12/2006 9:51:07 AM PDT
by
Blueflag
(Res ipsa loquitor)
To: aculeus
Thanks for the link.
That looks like a promising company.
10
posted on
09/12/2006 9:53:50 AM PDT
by
Sundog
(In a world without Walls or Fences, who needs Windows or Gates?)
To: aculeus
Very interesting post indeed. I just did a tour of a manufacturer of photovoltaic panels and they were saying that there is a real problem in obtaining quality ingredients. There were some other important things mentioned in the article - one is that the output is not degraded by operating at higher temperatures. I wonder what the expected life of this product might be and if it is affected by the temperature that it operates at.
11
posted on
09/12/2006 10:37:41 AM PDT
by
Asfarastheeastisfromthewest...
( "Sooner or later in life, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences." Robert Louis Stevenson)
To: UB355
Or try http://www.otherpower.com/
Their homemade wind mills are interesting.
12
posted on
09/12/2006 11:01:08 AM PDT
by
Abogado
(The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they are realities.)
To: aculeus
couple this with (http://www.cree.com) white LED's and we have a significant decrease in the demand for oil to power lighting.
I submit we need to have solar cell be a tax exempt product as a matter of national security. Less oil dependance equals increased national security.
13
posted on
09/12/2006 11:09:18 AM PDT
by
longtermmemmory
(VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
To: longtermmemmory
I submit we need to have solar cell be a tax exempt product as a matter of national security. They would work better if they were reality exempt as well. Sorry, did you people miss the bit where he said the technology is less efficient than silicon which already SUCKS?
14
posted on
09/12/2006 11:27:04 AM PDT
by
AdamSelene235
(Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
To: ibheath
15
posted on
09/12/2006 11:34:53 AM PDT
by
ibheath
(Born again and grateful to God.)
To: All
Here's 60 square meters of cells delivering enough juice, well during the day, for a couple hair dryers.
Communication Research Laboratory, Tokyo.
Folks, solar doesn't work because Reagan defunded Carter's NREL, solar doesn't work because the energy density sucks. Geez.
16
posted on
09/12/2006 11:45:05 AM PDT
by
AdamSelene235
(Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
To: AdamSelene235
They would work better if they were reality exempt as well. Sorry, did you people miss the bit where he said the technology is less efficient than silicon which already SUCKS?He also said they were cheaper by a factor of 4 or 5. If he's right on his numbers, his technology will outcompete silicon based cells. Whether it's competitive with fossil fuels any time before the 22nd century is another matter. His numbers ($1.00 vs $0.50) suggest it's not currently competitive. But that's a lot closer to being competitive than silicon.
To: ModelBreaker
his technology will outcompete silicon based cells. If Silicon cells were *FREE* they would NOT be a viable alternative for our energy needs.
Anybody who can do elementary school math should know this.
18
posted on
09/12/2006 12:04:53 PM PDT
by
AdamSelene235
(Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
To: AdamSelene235
enough juice, well during the day, for a couple hair dryers 21,426kwh = 2.5 yrs. of electric(for me)= $3K
19
posted on
09/12/2006 1:19:21 PM PDT
by
Realism
(Some believe that the facts-of-life are open to debate.....)
To: AdamSelene235
If Silicon cells were *FREE* they would NOT be a viable alternative for our energy needsDoes this mean that free silicon solar cells would not make us energy independent or that free silicon solar cells would not be economically competitive with existing electric generation. If the former, don't you think that's a strawman argument.
I'm genuinely curious about how free would not be viable. Could you explain it to me? (I'm pretty good at 'high-school math' but am not a silicon energy engineer--so pitch the explanation to about that level).
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